X-RAID: WITH 12 VEHICLES TO SOUTH AMERICA AND THE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED NASSER AL-ATTIYAH WITH MINI ALL4 RACING BY QATAR WRT

X-raid: With 12 vehicles to South America and the recently announced Nasser al Attiyah with MINI ALL4 Racing by Qatar World Rally Team.

22 November 2013

• The line-up comprises 11 MINI ALL4 Racing and a BMW X3 CC • International driver pairings from three continents

X-raid is going to contest the 2014 Dakar held in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile with the biggest driver line-up in its history. In addition to the four Monster Energy X-raid Team drivers – Stéphane Peterhansel, Nani Roma, Krzysztof Holowczyc and Orlando Terranova and the recently announced Nasser al Attiyah – who all will race a MINI ALL4 Racing, the service park will feature another six MINI ALL4 Racing and a BMW X3 CC.

The South American motor-racing enthusiasts may be particularly happy. Altogether, the continent will be represented by four drivers. Apart from Terranova, the two pairings Federico Villagra / Jorge Perez Companc (MINI ALL4 Racing) and Adrian Yacopini / Marco Scopinaro (BMW X3 CC) are also Argentinean. Villagra mainly has got World Rally Championship experience under his belt, to date, but in October, in the Morocco Rally, he succeeded in attracting a lot of attention. There, he demonstrated that he is quick and safe also in the dunes. While Yacopini already demonstrated that he has got what it takes to drive the BMW X3 CC consistently and without taking unnecessary risks.

The fourth South American driver is Chile’s Boris Garafulic who is going to once again race the Dakar with his French co-driver Gilles Picard. In the previous two Dakar Rally editions –Garafulic also started for X-raid – the Chilean proved that he is a top-15 driver. He once again will race the MINI ALL4 Racing in the Chilean colours.

With Poland’s Martin Kaczmarski, the X-raid Team line-up also comprises a Dakar rookie. The 23-year old has been contesting off-road and cross-county rallies for just two years, now. In his appearances to date he impressed with his pace. In the passenger seat of his MINI ALL4 Racing, the experienced Portuguese co-driver Filipe Palmeiro will be responsible for the navigation.

Russia’s Vladimir Vasilyev and his Ukrainian co-driver Vitaly Yevtyekhov are well-known faces in the off-road rally fraternity. Vasilyev already raced a MINI ALL4 Racing in the 2012 Baja Portalegre. Now he wants to also go for it with X-raid in the Dakar Rally. He secured the fine third place in the Morocco Rally and in addition he won a special stage. Further, he finished runner-up in the Silk way Rally and secured the title in the Russian Off Road Championship.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yong is the first Chinese driver to race with X-raid. He already has got the experience of six Dakar appearances under his belt and finished 19th in the 2012 and 2013 editions of the legendary desert rally. And this October he won the China Grand Rally. He also will race a MINI ALL4 Racing, in the 2014 Dakar.

The German pairing Stephan Schott / Holm Schmidt also is going to race again the 2014 Dakar with a MINI ALL4 Racing. It’s the sixth Dakar for Schott and his second with the MINI ALL4 Racing. This year, he attracted particular attention with his impressive seventh place in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

“We can rely on a competitive team, in the Dakar”, says X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt. “Our line-up comprises several faces that are well-known from the previous Dakar Rallies but some newcomers, too. I’m convinced that some of them could be good for a surprise. Certainly a lot of people will keep an eye on Zhou Yong, the first Chinese driver in a top car. The 12-vehicle line-up also represents a major logistic challenge for us. In this area, our experiences gathered in the past years will prove to be helpful.”

Some of Europe’s best drivers will prove their worth as Ice Masters when the 2014 FIA European Rally Championship powers into action on the 31 Int. Jännerrallye, Oberösterreich from 3-5 January 2014.

The asphalt showcase, which first ran in 1969 and attracted 100,000 spectators when it hosted the opening round of the 2013 ERC, is based in Freistadt, 40 kilometres north of the city of Linz in Upper Austria. The stages in the spectacular Mühlviertel region use fast, undulating country roads, with ice and snow adding to the challenge facing the crews.

As well as counting as the first event of the 12-round ERC schedule, which will enjoy extensive coverage on Eurosport, the rally is also the opening event of the Austrian and Czech championship seasons. It provides the first opportunity for drivers to chase ERC Ice Master points, an exciting new initiative developed by ERC promoter Eurosport Events.

Close on 50 cars are entered for the international section of the Jännerrallye with Formula One race winner turned rallying superstar Robert Kubica the top seed in his Ford Fiesta RRC. The entry list also includes Austria’s ERC Production Car Cup champion Andreas Aigner, his ERC 2WD title-winning counterpart Zoltán Bessenyey from Hungary, plus the national champions from Austria (Raimund Baumschlager), Czech Republic (Václav Pech) and Poland (Kajetan Kajetanowicz).

The event features 18 stages over a competitive distance of 245.60 kilometres. A Qualifying Stage, held on the morning of Friday 3 January, will be used to decide the starting order among the priority drivers.

ERC aces to make performance step Several ERC regulars will be taking a step up in performance in Austria. Andreas Aigner, Robert Consani and Hermann Neubauer are among those sampling more advanced machinery than they used in 2013, with Aigner and Consani both competing in Peugeot 207 Super 2000s and Neubauer armed with a Subaru Impreza R4 STI for the first time. Meanwhile, ERC 2WD runner-up Kornél Lukács will switch to a four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX having campaigned a Citroën C2R2 in 2013.

R5 cars out in force in the ERC Three new-generation Ford Fiesta R5s are entered with Czech drivers Roman Odložilík and Pavel Valoušek, plus top Pole Kajetan Kajetanowicz all competing in the M-Sport-built cars. Valoušek scored the first ERC stage win for an R5-specification car last season, while Kajetanowicz bagged the car’s maiden outright victory in the ERC.

Young ERC hopefuls out to impress Several future stars will be in action including young Latvian promise Vasily Gryazin, emerging Czech talent Jan Černý, rated Hungarian Kornél Lukács, rising Ukrainian Vitaly Pushkar, German hope Raffael Sulzinger and Simone Tempestini, the current Romanian Junior champion. Černý, Lukács, Pushkar and Tempestini will all be in contention for ERC Production Car Cup honours, where rapid Austrian Beppo Harrach is expected to provide their strongest opposition.

Tarabus to start ERC adventure in Austria Jaromír Tarabus, a frontrunner in the Czech championship for several seasons, will begin his ERC campaign on the Jännerrallye, one of as many as eight rounds that Tarabus is due to tackle in his Kresta Racing-prepared ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000. Compatriot and European championship regular Antonín Tlusťák is also expected to contest several ERC rounds in 2014 in a Fabia.

What’s new in the ERC in 2014? New rallies, new categories and new awards are all in store for the ERC in 2014. The Acropolis Rally, the Circuit of Ireland Rally, auto24 Rally Estonia and the Cyprus Rally are all new for the upcoming season, while Sibiu Rally Romania becomes a winter event. The FIA ERC Junior Championship will get underway on Rally Liepāja in late January; the ERC Manufacturers’ Cup begins in 2014, while surface specialists will be rewarded with the creation of the new ERC Asphalt, Gravel and Ice Master accolades.

Q&A: ANDREAS AIGNER ERC Production Car Cup champion steps up for home rally

A new year and a new car – how much experience do you have of your Peugeot 207 Super 2000? “Not so much. I did some kilometres in a Race of Champions-style event on a rallycross track in Austria but for sure we will do a test before the rally because it is very important to prepare for the wet, icy and snowy roads you get on this event so you can get the confidence.”

So it sounds like the weather will be a big factor? “It means there cannot be one real favourite for the victory because it is so easy to make a mistake and go off the road or to make the wrong tyre choice and lose one minute. The weather is changing all the time and it is not easy to be on the right tyres at the right time.”

Your choice of car gives you the chance to start the 2014 ERC season with an overall victory… “Although it’s my home event I don’t have so much experience on these roads and there are a lot of good drivers doing this rally, including really strong drivers from Austria and Czech Republic. They know the stages very well and will be very fast.”

Is this a one-off drive or is there a chance that you will do more ERC events in this car? “We don’t know yet. I am very happy to be at the start in this car and I will look forward to this but we are still waiting on decisions from some sponsors before we can look ahead for the rest of the season.”

How crucial will a strong result be in your efforts to secure more backing? “Of course a good result is important but I don’t think it will make a big difference. The most important thing is to compete in the European Rally Championship when it comes to your country.”

FIVE FACTS *History was made on the Jännerrallye in 1981 when a four-wheel-drive car was used in competition for the first time. Driving an Audi Quattro, Franz Wittmann won by a margin of more than 20 minutes. *Speaking of iconic rally cars, event regular Stig Blomqvist will drive a Quattro course car as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of his world rally title triumph in 1984. *The first Jännerrallye took place in 1969 but a lack of finance meant there was no event between 1986 and 2001. The event didn’t run in 2010 due to a permit issue. *Ernst Haneder is a baker in Jännerrallye host town Freistadt when he’s not competing. A brush with a telegraph pole ended his hopes of a finish last season. *Apple strudel and Wiener schnitzel are two popular Austrian dishes. In Upper Austria, dumplings are a favourite, while the Linzer Torte is a cake made from ground nuts and raspberry jam.

ON THIS RALLY IN 2013 ŠKODA driver Jan Kopecký claimed what would be the first of six ERC victories during his title-winning season by repeating his Jännerrallye triumph of 12 months previously. In a dramatic finish, Kopecký beat Bryan Bouffier (Peugeot 207 S2000) to victory by half a second after he fought back from a late puncture. Multiple Austrian champion Raimund Baumschlager finished third. Austria’s Beppo Harrach clinched the Colin McRae Flat Out Trophy for his performance to win the ERC Production Car Cup. Hannes Danzinger recovered from a puncture to win ERC 2WD in a Renault Clio.